TED 2007: The future of entertainment

WHAT TO DO ABOUT COPYRIGHT: Technology is transforming pop culture, Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig said.

For example, he showed some popular, user-generated clips, which take pieces of copyrighted music and video, mash it up and create something new, something of their own. Like Jesus singing “I Will Survive.” It’s been made possible by cheaper filmmaking equipment and software, and fueled by popular online video sites such as YouTube, where millions of these clips can be seen.

“This is how our kids speak,” he said.

But in trying to protect its property, the entertainment industry is going to extremes, Lessig said. It shouldn’t be taking down mashups and other user-generated creations that borrows copyrighted material.

That’s not the solution, he said, and the market must develop an answer.

The latest technology has shaped the next generation. “We can’t stop kids from using it,” he said. “We can only drive it underground.”

The MYSTERY BOX: As a child, J.J. Abrams, creator of “Lost” and “Alias,” purchased a wooden mystery box, which he keeps with him and has never opened.

Abrams, whose next project includes the latest “Star Trek” movie, said he has always been attracted to mystery, and that it can be more engaging than knowing the actual secret.

As an example, he pointed out such blockbusters as “Jaws” and “Alien.” The technology for big special effects didn’t exist at the time. Yet the movies — the mystery, the characters, the themes — were still powerful. Now amateur filmmakers, empowered by cheap tools, can do the same.

And while he’s had the opportunity to make money with huge, fiery explosions — and as proof, he played excerpts of the “Lost” pilot and “Mission: Impossible 3″ — sometimes the magic is in the little, simple solutions.

In a scene in MI3, Tom Cruise is captured by the bad guys and a gun is shoved up his nose. In filming it, the gun was hitting Cruise’s nose too hard and hurting his nostril. “I learned this early in my career: Don’t hurt Tom’s nose,” he said.

To solve the problem, Cruise put on the glove worn by the bad guy, and stuck the gun up his nose instead, so that he could control how hard and far the barrel went. The camera framed the shot so the audience couldn’t tell — it still appears that the bad guy is sticking the gun up Cruise’s nose.

“Tom’s playing two roles but he didn’t ask for anymore money,” Abrams joked.

Stay tuned for our podcast, in which we paired J.J. Abrams and Friendster creator Jonathan Abrams for a 10-minute conversation.

Skoll wanted to use the media to inspire change. The films were accompanied by Web sites — such as ClimateCrisis.net for “An Inconvenient Truth” — which connected viewers to groups such as the Sierra Club to take action.

His company has 10 films in production, including “Charlie Wilson’s War” with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, about Texas congressman Charlie Wilson’s secret deals in Afghanistan.

“Everyone has the opportunity to make change in their own way,” Skoll said. “There’s no right way to make change.”